Philadelphia SHRM Webinar
Friday, February 24, 2012
12:00pm - 1:00pm

This program has been approved for 1 General recertification credit hour toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute. For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HR Certification Institute website at www.hrci.org.

Avoiding Employee Retaliation Lawsuits: Advice for Employers

Program Overview:
Retaliation charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) currently outnumber all other types of discrimination claims.  With a newly-invigorated EEOC and court decisions that continue to expand protections against retaliation in the workplace, Human Resources and other managers must take appropriate steps and implement strategies in order to avoid retaliation claims and to successfully defend retaliation cases that are brought in administrative agencies and court.  Please join Sam First, Esquire, of the Jacobs Law Group, and Celia Joseph, Esquire, of Fisher & Phillips LLP, both experienced attorneys in employment law, who will co-present this informative and interactive session to provide you with:

• The most up-to-date retaliation trends, case law, regulatory actions, and lawsuits faced by employers;
• Steps your organization can take to avoid retaliation claims;
• Advice to employers who need to balance the challenge of managing workers, the performance management process, complaint investigations and follow-up with the risk of a retaliation claim; and
• Actions employers can take when retaliation complaints are threatened or brought in an administrative agency or in court litigation against your company. 

Program Objectives:
You will gain the following takeaways from this legal webcast:

• You will learn about the United States Supreme Court’s recent decisions and their impact in expanding the scope of  retaliation claims, including:
  • identifying the parties and early-stage strategies
  • recognizing plaintiffs within the "zone of interest"
  • understanding retaliation by association
  • being familiar with the essential elements of a retaliation claim
    
• What courts view as "protected activity" and "adverse action" for the purpose of establishing retaliation;
• How plaintiffs establish the causal link between a negative employment action and the employee’s protected activity;
• Best practices for handling internal employee complaints that will help an employer avoid retaliation complaints and to prevail should litigation occur;
• Appropriate internal investigation procedures that will assist in preventing retaliation allegations;
• how to conduct investigations and ensure an appropriate workplace setting  to avoid retaliation claims

This session will also address specific strategies and actions Human Resources professionals should take to avoid retaliation complaints and to successfully defend in any retaliation administrative actions and lawsuits

Who Should Attend:
Human Resources and other managers, especially those responsible for developing and managing equal employment opportunity, employee relations, internal complain processes and other programs, seeking to enhance their legal and leadership acumen and learn about the most current EEOC and other practices, programs, cases, and enforcement activity to help their organizations:  leverage their complaints related and employment related functions; comply with the law; and avoid costly administrative and legal actions. 

About the speakers:

Samuel M. First, Esq.

Sam First serves as Labor and Employment Chair at the Jacobs Law Group representing private and public sector employers in all aspects of labor and employment law.  He represents and advises clients, both large and small, in employment discrimination matters, non-compete, non-solicitation and trade secret disputes, executive employment agreements, employee termination and disciplinary matters, reductions in force, severance arrangements, wage and hour laws, personnel policies and practices and the complex web of federal, state and local laws governing the workplace. In addition, he regularly represents clients on labor and employment issues in mergers, acquisitions and other business transactions as well as all issues affecting unionized workforces.

Mr. First is very active in the community currently serving as VP Legal for the Philadelphia Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (PSHRM) and Chair of the Board of JEVS Human Services.  He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and on the Business Executive Advisory Board to the Business School at Holy Family University.  Mr. First frequently lectures on labor and employment law issues for clients, PSHRM, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and many other organizations.  He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University School of Law.  

Celia M. Joseph, Esquire. 

Celia Joseph is Of Counsel in the Philadelphia office of Fisher & Phillips LLP, a national employment law firm that represents employers on legal issues that impact the workplace.  Ms. Joseph has U.S. and international employment law experience including harassment and discrimination prevention; employment law and corporate compliancetraining; employment policies and procedures; investigations; diversity, affirmative action, and OFCCP requirements; employment litigation and administrative actions; employment-related contracts; preventing workplace violence; FMLA, FLSA, NLRB, reductions in force; and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Fisher & Phillips, Ms. Joseph founded an employment law firm, and was employed for over 25 years as Assistant General Counsel, Employment Law Manager, and EEO/Diversity Manager at Rohm and Haas Company.  Ms. Joseph helped develop and manage the programs resulting in Rohm and Haas completing successfully an OFCCP Glass Ceiling Audit, and being awarded the DOL Exemplary Effort in Diversity (EVE) and the City of Philadelphia EEO awards.  Ms. Joseph regularly lectures on employment law issues for her clients, and for numerous civic, non-profit, educational, and business organizations.  She is an active member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (PSHRM) as both a member of its Board of Directors, a presenter and the Co-Chair of PSHRM’s Program Committee.  Ms. Joseph earned her Mediation Certificate from the Center for Dispute Settlement in Washington, D.C., and is a pro bono mediator for the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  A graduate of Temple University, Ms. Joseph received her law degree from Temple University School of Law, and an MBA from Drexel University’s LeBow School of Business.  She is a member of the OFCCP Liaison Groups in both the Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia areas.

Cost: $10 for PSHRM Members; $25 for Non-Members